Cojute won 63-75 against Santiagueño at the Gimnasio 9 de Noviembre, in a duel in which the choricera squad obtained the necessary points to place themselves in the sixth place in the standings at the close of the first round of the 2024 Apertura Cup Tournament. Tigo Sports of the Major League Basketball (LMB).
While at the Adolfo Pineda Municipal Gymnasium, Santa Ana defeated Santa Tecla 75-82, a result with which the Westerners are positioned in second place, with 16 units.
Santiagueño, who is in last place in the LMB standings, started the match with good aim and with the help of the Puerto Rican, Ángel Oquendo, they managed to play one on one against Cojute and equalize 17-17.
The locals showed their best side in the second period, when the American Xavier Eaglin led Santiagueño’s offensive to pocket that roll 26-21 and take an overall lead 43-38.
But the choricero team was not willing to lose, and although the pressure from the support of the Santiago bar was constant, those from Cojute managed to reverse the score thanks to the great performance of the Dominican Frankyn Batista, who added eight of the 16 with which to close the third period against the 12 of the locals, reducing the difference on aggregate to one point 55-54.
Despite Santigaueño’s efforts, Cojute took over the final quarter and with the skill of Batista and the American Troidell Carter they added 21 more points to the score and in response they only received 8 to close the final victory 63-75.
Xavier Englin became one of Santiagueño’s top scorers by scoring 24 points, followed by Ángel Oquendo with 15 and Freddy Asprilla with 11 points. Batista responded for Cojute with 32 points and 30 rebounds, Carter with 19 and Pablo Figueroa with 13 points.
Santa Ana surprised in Santa Tecla
At the Adolfo Píneda Municipal Gymnasium, Santa Tecla could not stop the attack of Santa Ana, which was superior in the first period by scoring 30 points and blocked the attack of the home team, who only managed 18 points.
During the second quarter, Santa Tecla managed to vindicate itself in front of its fans and scored 22 points, in response they scored 19 against, leaving an overall score of 40-49.
The difference of nine points made the Tecleños turn on their attack, because in the third period they scored 19 and Santa Ana scored 13 points (59-62). The advantage of the Santanecos over Tecleños was only three points, but the Westerners rethought their strategy for the fourth period and it was effective, as they scored 20 points and Santa Tecla scored 16 to seal the victory for the Santanecos 75-82.
The top scorers for Santa Tecla were Andravious Smith with 29 points, followed by Luis Portal with 19 and Ariel Interiano with 10. For Santa Ana, Lee Vásquez stood out with 26, Timothy Simmons with 25 and Abdulbasit Ajia with 21 points.
The positions at the close of the first round of the 2024 Apertura Tournament are led by San Salvador with 17 units, followed by Santa Ana, Metapán and Salvadoreños, all with 16 units. Santa Tecla is fifth with 14 points, followed by Cojute which has 13, while Fantasmas de San Vicente, Lobos y Brujos de Izalco add 11 points and Santiagueño was left with 10 points.
LMB Apertura Cup Tournament
The usual LMB programming stops for a moment to make way for the LMB Cup Tournament, which will be held with the first four places after the close of the first round.
Semifinal 1 will feature San Salvador and Salvadoreños, at the Inclusive Sports City, while semifinal 2 will be played between Santa Ana and Metapán, at the Vega Mojica Gymnasium. The duels will be played simultaneously and the winner will advance to the Cup final, scheduled for Sunday, April 14, at 7:00 pm The venue for this match will be the home of the finalist with the best position in the table.
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